"I must say, you've got guts going after the Admiral like that. You know, he could have pulled the trigger," Harley said calmly, walking down the hall alongside Eric.
"I'd be the happiest man if he did," Eric replied, still seething from the confrontation. "At least I wouldn't have to stick around for the bloody mess that's coming next"
"He's not wrong, though. You don't look or sound like a genius. You look like you've been living in a dumpster," Harley teased, facing him with a slight smirk.
Eric's serious expression didn't change. "Pardon me if I'm a cocky prick, but I abandoned that side of me years ago. Don't ask me how or why—it's none of your business."
Harley raised her hands in a "whatever you say" gesture and turned to walk normally.
"You know, for a Strike Officer who's supposed to be strict, you're quite different," Eric said, the frown on his face softening. "Easygoing but composed."
"Don't get too comfortable, old man. You really don't want to see the other side of me," she replied with a warm tone and a smile as they walked on.
A moment of silence passed. Then, Eric stopped dead in his tracks and gave her a sharp look.
"You seem like a nice person, and I'd love to continue this little chat, but I've gotta bounce."
Harley stopped as well, her body language shifting, a look of suspicion creeping onto her face. She slowly reached for the taser gun she kept hidden. "I don't understand what you're getting at," she said, her voice now filled with a hint of concern.
"You'll understand soon enough. It was nice knowing you, by the way," Eric said, raising his hand in a slow wave. "Peace."
Harley swiftly drew her taser and fired. The projectile hit Eric, and his body exploded into a gelatinous spray. She stared at the mess for a moment, then cursed. She slammed a red button on the wall, and a blaring siren filled the hall as red lights pulsed.
"We've been played! It was a clone! Blackmoor has escaped!" she yelled into her comm device.
At that same moment, the real Eric was on the bridge, searching for a spacecraft. His eyes settled on a sleek, military-grade ship. He rushed to it, opened the hatch, and started the engine.
"Alright, here we go. Should be a walk in the park," he said to himself as he taxied the craft forward.
A massive blast of plasma tore from the ship's cannons, incinerating the hangar door and exposing the runway.
"Hahaha, just like the old days," he laughed, accelerating down the runway for takeoff.
Military vehicles and aircraft swarmed the area, engaging in a pursuit from a distance. Eric giggled, hitting a button to activate a force field and EMP shield.
"This should do it," he said, pulling a remote from his pocket and clicking it.
An enormous EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) explosion erupted from the heart of Atlas Tower. A wave of energy tore through the city, deactivating all vehicles, drones, and technology. The military chase ground to a halt as their vehicles died.
From Atlas Tower, Commander Ellen watched the chaos unfold. "Somebody stop that son of a bitch!" she screamed into a comm device.
"All systems are offline, Commander Ellen! We've been critically hit!" a voice replied.
"Then alert the a-grid! He mustn't get past the Hemisphere!" she demanded, referring to the space-based defense network.
"That's a problem, ma'am. All grids are down, and the Hemisphere is deactivated," the voice replied.
"How is that possible?!" she roared, punching the thick glass wall as she stared up at the sky. She crushed the comm device in her hand.
Suddenly, an individual leaped from the top floor of the tower, crashing through the glass. Her body instantly encased itself in a sleek, black and gold striped nanotech exosuit. It was Yelena Dexter.
She landed with a heavy thud, the reinforced plates on her boots absorbing the impact. With a flick of her wrist, nanobots surged from her arm, forming a weapon. In seconds, a VOLT-Hammer took shape, an electrified rail launcher humming with raw power. Golden arcs of energy danced along its frame.
"Target in sight," she said into her helmet comms.
"Take the shot, Dexter! That's an order!" Ellen's voice was a desperate shriek as she snatched a comm device from an aide.
"Understood." Yelena replied. She fired.
The electrified projectile shot through the air with a deafening crackle, slamming into the accelerating spacecraft with thunderous force. A blinding explosion erupted, sending shockwaves in every direction.
"Serves you right, you damn bastard," Ellen said, a relieved smile on her face.
But her joy was short-lived. The spacecraft emerged from the explosion without a single scratch.
"Always with the explosions. What a bunch of crackheads," Eric said to himself, piloting the craft higher. He flicked a switch on his dashboard, initiating a light-speed countdown.
"Force field deactivated. Nine minutes until full charge. T minus ten seconds to Hyper-Jump," a computerized voice announced.
Yelena, seeing the craft escaping, ran at impossible speeds, faster than any vehicle. The computerized voice counted down.
"T minus five seconds to Hyper-Jump."
Desperate, she formed another weapon from her suit, a massive, electrified spear. She jumped, spun, and fired. The blast propelled her forward, sending her rocketing through the air like a bullet, directly at the spacecraft.
"Hyper-Jump initiated," the voice said.
In a millisecond, Yelena crashed onto the spacecraft, latching onto its hull just as it vanished from sight. Space bent, and a swirling, glowing wormhole opened, a twisting corridor of color and light as the ship began its journey into a new reality.